Hello everybody; ModernDayBard here. Now, unlike my normal approach to cases (2 chapters), or my more rushed, 1-chapter attempts, this case will unfold over several chapters, so no luck if you were hoping for a quick resolution!
Because I am required to say it: I do not own Criminal Minds or any cannon characters/events; just those of my own creation.
There was a silent, dreadful pall over the conference room after Amanda's story and Rossi's addition.
Spence had been the one who knew more of the truth than the others, but even he hadn't imagined something that horrific—if he was honest, he had thought she'd been abducted and tortured as a child, but only for a day or two, not exposed to prolonged abuse. Morgan and Emily felt like they'd intruded—this was a story that only came out in such extreme circumstances, or after years of developing trust. Garcia was horrified at the thought of anyone treating any child in such a way, much less one of her dear friends. Hotch and Rossi exchanged glances; as Amanda's supervising officers, they'd both had access to the version of the story in her official file, and Rossi, of course, remembered the frightened, distrustful girl those few months had turned her into.
The one thing that none of them thought was that the woman they'd worked alongside was any kind of serial killer, especially not a revenge-seeking mission-oriented killer.
And yet, however temporarily, they'd have to consider the possibility that she was one.
Morgan, Prentiss, and Reid glanced up as Rossi led Amanda back into the bullpen area after her interview with him and Hotch. Well, interview wasn't exactly the right word, but it wasn't an interrogation, since a simple search on Garcia's part confirmed she had an alibi for all of the kills—most of them team-related. Hotch had quickly ended the charade, then gone off to make some calls, whatever that meant.
Amanda wasn't sure what they'd do next, how the investigation would proceed. In any other case, she'd know, or have a pretty decent guess, but her brain was still fuzzy and foggy from recalling and retelling the story of her time with the Veere's.
When she saw her teammates waiting for her, she couldn't meet their eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she started. "Should have told you—"
"No, Ninja," Morgan cut her off gently. "It wasn't our time or place to know. If it weren't for this damn case, it still wouldn't be."
No one seemed to know what else to say—what was the right response after you learned such a story nineteen years after the fact? The moment ended as Hotch re-entered the area, shoulders back and jaw clenched. Every profiler present cold read that body language—he had a plan, but they weren't going to like it.
"Here's what we have to do..."
So, yeah. I'm cruel enough to have that be the cliffhanger. I was going to go more into them processing the story originally, but honestly, it just wasn't coming out like that. (Although that may have more to do with writing this chapter late at night than any kind of organic story development.)
As always, if you saw something you like, or something you think I can fix/improve on for next time, don't hesitate to leave a review and let me know!
ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be taking next week off of posting, since next weekend is my college graduation. I will return, hopefully in the next week, to finish up these two stories and make an announcement about my plan going forward. Thanks for your patience, everybody!